Naruto: A cursed existence
by mystic mr bump
Summary: A Naruto fan fic that takes place 6 years after the beginning of Naruto, The events of the shipuuden have not happened. The hidden leaf is at wa with the Hidden Mist and the story centres around konohamaru and Iruka and their hardships.
1. Chapter 1

A Cursed Existence

"Konohamaru take cover!" Shouted Iruka from behind his cover of a collapsed tree "quit your day dreaming, we have a mission to complete!" Konohamaru quickly ducked in behind a trick oak tree and suddenly heard the thudding of several kunai slamming in to the trees on either side of him.

"Phew…" sighed Konohamaru "that was close…" A few more thuds were heard and as konohamaru looked up he saw not one but several of the kunai had a burning tag attached to them. Stunned, Konohamaru could not move; his body was paralysed with the thought of his impending demise.

"Konohamaru-kun!" Moegi shouted from behind her cover, she could see the tags and that Konohamaru had not moved. Moegi attempted to jump to Konohamaru's aid but a forceful handgrip on her shoulder kept her down. "Udon what are you doing?" Moegi shouted and hit at Udon with he clenched fists, "Konohamaru needs our help!"

"If you jump out there, you both will die" Udon replied calmly, "Konohamaru knows what he is doing"  
"Udon, Konohamaru is skilled on missions but he hates war! He is going to get himself killed if we don't help him!"

"Look!" Said Udon, pointing towards Konohamaru, "He is on the move"

Konohamaru sighed and then ran out of the trees blindly, with a kunai in hand he ran for the nearest cover.

"Konohamaru, no!" Iruka shouted but Konohamaru couldn't hear his plea over the din of the on going battle against the shinobi of the Hidden Mist village.

Several shiruken flew towards Konohamaru but he quickly sidestepped and dodged one of them while blocking and parrying the remaining few shiruken with his kunai. Pivoting on his right foot he spun and took off running again but after his third step Konohamru realised he was trapped. The kunai that had flew past him before had thin wires attached to them, each lined with explosive tags set to blow at the slightest touch or movement.

Then it all happened at once, the explosive tags ignited sending Konohamaru flying through the trees and sprawling face down, his body twisted and contorted in different directions. The Hidden Mist shinobi were upon Moegi and Udon, three of them surrounding the pair each holding a katana to the Hidden Leaf shinobi. A woman, wearing a mask of tight fitting leather with eyeholes cut out as well as a large piece removed for her mouth and nostrils, stood over Iruka. She held a weapon with the haft of a short spear but the blade of a short sword in one hand and held it against Iruka's throat.

"Oh my, Iruka, you seemed to have gotten very lethargic in your work. Tell me, have you gotten so bad you've been given the task of training academy students again?" The woman said, with a voice that was clear and confident but also gentle.

"You seem to be forgetting it was I who trained you at the academy, Veronica" Iruka replied, edging his head back from the feel of the bare steel against his neck. "You betray Konoha to the Hidden Mist and still have the audacity to mock me?" Iruka spat at her but she laughed at his feeble attempt at resistance and pressed her blade to his throat with a tiny bit more pressure to draw a few droplets of blood.

"I am sorry you had to lose one of your team members however, in war there will always be casualties. From highly skilled jounin to the feeble genins, your genins should not be in this war in the first place."

Iruka laughed at Veronica in spite of the proximity of her blade. "You think my students are that weak?" Iruka lifted his hand and pointed to where Konohamaru was thrown by the explosion. "If they're so weak that they will die so easily then tell me where has that little genin gotten to?"

Veronica looked up to see that Konohamaru's body was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?"

"Hopefully he's on his way for reinforcements"

"Even if he is, we will gone long before they arrive" Veronica lifted her blade point to her mouth and licked the blood off the point and suddenly her mask dropped off revealing a face of unremarkable beauty and violet coloured eyes. She dropped her weapon and performed countless hand seals within seconds. "Sealing technique, Cursed heart" She thrust her hand at Iruka and struck him in the chest and he screamed in pain as the sealing technique took over him. With Iruka doubled over in pain Veronica gave him a sad smile and whispered to herself, "Now you are mine Iruka, just like you used to be and this time I will not let you go so easily"

Moegi and Udon could only watch on in despair at the pain their Jounin sensei was in and from behind the tree line, underneath the shadows of the trees, a young konohamaru stood and watched, his rage about to explode in a violent way. "Iruka sensei…"


	2. Chapter 2

A Cursed existence

Chapter 2 – "Medical team, hurry!"

Konohamaru gathered his chakra and formed a hand seal, his rage was building within him and his chakra exploded out. "Shadow clone technique!" Suddenly five shadow clones of Konohamaru were surrounding the Hidden Mist shinobi.

"Oh shadow clone technique?" One of the Hidden Mist Shinobi said, "It looks like these pesky genin are better than we expected

"Konohamaru!" shouted Moegi in surprise, "Watch out, she's done something to Iruka sensei!"

The hidden Mist shinobi looked at one another and nodded. They suddenly jumped from their positions surrounding Udon and Moegi and were now circling around Veronica facing the shadow clones of Konohamaru. The Hidden Mist shinobi stabbed their katanas into the ground and raised an arm into the air with his other hand formed into a seal in front of his face.

"We will meet again Iruka" Veronica said sweetly.

Iruka climbed to a knee, coughing and struggling to breathe, "What did you do to me?" He asked, "Your forbidden technique?"

"Why Iruka, you should know all about that technique, you were after all the one who had me exiled from the Hidden Leaf because of it"

"You cannot play with peoples lives like that!" Iruka shouted, "You're no better than Orochimaru!"

"Don't you dare compare me to him!" Veronica shouted heatedly, "My technique is out of love not for power!"

"Enough of this Vera-sempai!" One of the Hidden Mist shinobi broke in, "We must fall back, now!"

"Very well"

"Water element. Hidden mist technique!"

A thick fog rolled out through the trees and veiled the battleground; none of the Hidden Leaf shinobi could see more than a meter in front of them.

"Udon now!" Moegi shouted as she reached over her back and drew out a short bladed katana.

"Wind element, rising wind current!" Said Udon as he released his chakra into the technique. The wind picked up slowly and then much quicker, carrying the fog away but when the fog was lifted the Hidden Mist shinobi were gone and Iruka was slumped on the ground and was drawing in air in ragged breaths.

Konohamaru's shadow clones disappeared in clouds of smoke leaving the one real Konohamaru standing near Iruka.

"Konohamaru why didn't you send for help?" Moegi asked "We need a medical team right away, Udon see what you can do for Iruka-sensei"

"I did send for help" Konohamaru replied, "I sent another shadow clone back to retrieve Hinata-sama"

"Thank goodness" Said Moegi, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I cannot see anything physically wrong with him" Udon reported, his hands placed on Iruka's chest and the chakra around his hands glowing a steady green.

"Who was that woman?" Moegi asked Konohamaru

"I don't know Moegi, but she knew Iruka-sensei. I heard something about a forbidden technique, perhaps that is why Udon cannot find anything wrong with sensei"

"Let's take him back to get help, we will no doubt meet up with the medical team on the way" Udon suggested, Udon had grown quite a lot and was almost Iruka's height. "I'll carry him"

During the trip back through the trees towards the Hidden Leaf, Konohamaru's team encountered the medical team that was sent out to aid them. Hyuuga Hinata who had been apprenticed to Shizune, and had shown a talent for medical techniques led the team. Her younger sister Hyuuga Hanabi was also in the squad however she was not a medical shinobi; she was one of the genin in Hinata's 4-man cell and was talented in scouting as well as close combat. The next great shinobi war had hardened the young shinobi of the Hidden Leaf and forced them to mature, ever since the death of the 5th Hokage, Tsunade.

"Kakashi is not going to be happy with this" Hinata said to Konohamaru and his team, "We do not have the military strength to lose another jounin in a minor skirmish"

"How is Iruka-sensei?" Konohamaru asked

"He is stable now, we discovered what was done to him however" Hinata hesitated, "His heart has a chakra seal placed on top of it. This seal is disrupting his nerve receptors throughout his body, right now he is in agonising pain but soon his nervous system will be distorted to the point where he can no longer feel pain, heat, cold… anything except the basic touch senses"

"What do you mean?"

"His nervous system was sealed at his heart, we cannot risk unsealing the technique without doing irreparable damage to his heart"

Moegi begun to weep, "Is there anything to be done?"

"Not by us I'm afraid, the only way to help him is to capture the Hidden Mist shinobi that placed the seal on him in the first place."

"Will Kakashi-sama send out a squad for such a mission?"

"I would not count on it, Moegi. We are weakened already and need whatever skilled shinobi we have left to protect the village. Kakashi has commissioned for Ino to come probe Iruka's mind to find out whatever we can about this Veronica you mentioned."

"Then what bout our cell?" Udon asked, "Our jounin is out of action but we have a recon mission to complete"

"Kakashi has given your mission over to another squad. He has ordered that you three remain in the village until we know more"

On top of the Hokage monument in the Hidden Leaf, a lone shinobi sat watching over the village under the cover of night.

"Iruka my love, I hope you will enjoy my gift to you" Veronica whispered, "We'll be with each other soon enough"

Veronica looked around her, looking at the sprawled bodies of Hidden Leaf ANBU. "This village is too weak, I will save you from its destruction Iruka, I promise you"


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto: A Cursed Existence

Chapter 3 "Aid from the shadows"

As the sun began to set on the Hidden village of the Leaf a trumpet blew to announce an arrival at the main gate.

"What kind of horn was that?" Konohamaru asked Moegi and Udon as they sat by the hot springs district. "That wasn't a Hidden leaf signal"

"Hokage-sama doesn't have need of us right now so why don't we take a look?" suggested Moegi

"Perhaps we should just stay out of the way" Udon replied, "The alarm hasn't sounded from our own watch towers so we probably aren't needed and will just end up getting in the way"

"Udon what's the matter with you?" Moegi asked heatedly, "Ever since the battle against the Hidden Mist you've been acting strangely, it's almost like you've lost all confidence in yourself"

"We weren't able to complete the mission let alone save Iruka sensei from that Veronica. Kiba-sempai was a better choice for the mission than we were in the first place"

As Udon and Moegi argued, Konohamaru stood up and walked off towards the main gate. "Argue all you want to, I'm going to see what's going on"

Udon and Moegi looked abashed and then quickly followed after Konohamaru. "Konohamaru-kun, wait for us!" Moegi called out.

In the shadows of the trees surrounding the Hidden Leaf village a line of shinobi appeared, walking towards the village and then behind them another rank of shinobi appeared from the shadows and then another and another.

From their vantage point from up high, on top of one of the buildings near the fortified wall of the Hidden Leaf, Konohamaru and his friends could see the strange shinobi. Konohamaru counted approximately a hundred shinobi, each of them carrying a short branch with a white strip of cloth tied around the end of it.

"Who are they?" Moegi asked

"I have no idea" Udon replied, "Konohamaru do you have any idea who they are?"

Konohamaru didn't know and so he didn't bother replying, he leant closer to the edge of the building when he saw the village gates swing open. "Look! Someone from the Hidden Leaf is walking out towards them!"

The figure that emerged from the gates of the Hidden Leaf village wore a long flowing white robe, and a white hat with a red point on the top, a large symbol for "Fire" had been embroidered on to the front of the hat.

"It's Hokage-sama!" Moegi said in surprise

"Looks like they must be important visitors" Udon surmised

"I wonder if the Hidden Leaf has called in some allies to fight against the Hidden Mist" Konohamaru whispered to himself, "we don't need allies, we have the will of fire"

"Even the will of fire isn't immune to a kunai or a shiruken" said a voice from behind the three young genin. Startled the genin spun around on the rooftop and were face to face with four, masked Hidden Leaf ANBU.

"Shikamaru shouldn't you be down there with Hokage-sama?" Konohamaru asked

Removing his mask Shikamaru could not help but laugh, "How do you know that it's me every time?" Shikamaru said with a hint of humour in his voice, "For a genin you sure are perceptive"

One of the other ANBU laughed and then spoke to Konohamaru, "We are protecting Hokage-sama. We have another squad over on the buildings opposite where we are now and we have most of our ANBU platoons in the forest guiding the way for the Hidden Cloud shinobi"

"Hidden Cloud?"

"After the murder of his younger brother, the Raikage opened communications with the Hidden Leaf in hopes of finding the organization responsible. It was after all around the same time the Hidden Mist had plotted to assassinate Tsuande."

"So they're here to help us with the war against the Hidden Mist?"

"We don't know to be honest"

A large tanned man, the size of a boulder, stepped forward towards the Hokage, his thick arms crossed across his broad chest.

"Greetings Hidden Leaf shinobi" He said in a booming voice "I have been sent here to honour the alliance treaty between our great villages"

The Hokage replied in a rasping voice, "Who are you to think we need your help?"

"Who am I?" The giant man boomed, "I am the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud village and I will be treated with some… RESPECT!"

The Raikage formed a hand seal and then in lightning speed begun forming many more. The Hokage quickly threw back his cloak and hat, every hand seal the Raikage formed the Hokage formed at the exact time. With the final hand seal both of the village leaders raised a hand in the air and shouted at the top of their voices, "Lightning element, Shichuu Shibari!" At the end of the hand seals, during the crashing of voices, four giant stone pillars rose out of the ground around both village leaders, and the air started to crack and sizzle and suddenly a lightning bolt struck from out of one of the pillars towards the Hokage yet another bolt of lightning crashed into it sending it crashing into the earth. Another came at the Hokage and yet again it was deflected and again, and again.

"Shikamaru why isn't anybody doing something?" Moegi pleaded

Shikamaru smiled at her, "If you had met the Raikage before you would know his pride demands a spectacular show to announce his arrival"

After a few moments the Raikage wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. The four stone pillars sank back into the ground and the Raikage stepped closer to the Hokage. The Hokage's silvery hair blowing with the soft breeze, he stepped closer to offer his hand to the Raikage.

"Well met Hokage-sama. Hatake Kakashi."


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto: A Cursed Existence

Chapter 4 "Mission Time, A new team!"

Knocking on the door of the Hokage's office, Konohamaru stood outside waiting with Moegi. Moegi was extremely nervous, her legs were trembling slightly and she was biting her lower lip constantly. Konohamaru felt the need to reassure her but he knew she would deny being nervous or worried.

"Come in Konohamaru" Konohamaru heard a male voice inside say out aloud, "Please close the door behind you"

Konohamaru and Moegi entered the Hokage's office; it seemed crowded because in the room stood the massive Raikage, Shikamaru and two other Hidden Could shinobi. The Hidden Cloud shinobi looked surprisingly similar, one was a tall male with brown hair and a silver stripe streaked through his hair. The female stood nearly as tall and had a long streak of silver through her long flowing brown hair. Both wore the flak jacket of the Hidden Cloud with their forehead protectors hanging loosely around their necks.

"Welcome Konohamaru, Moegi" Kakashi said to the young shinobi, "I would like to introduce you to the Raikage of the Hidden Cloud village"

The massive man from the Hidden Cloud laughed and looked Konohamaru up and down, "So this is Sarutobi Konohamaru. I have high expectations from you, you come from a prestigious line of Shinobi, your grandfather the third Hokage was a legend and your late uncle Asuma was a great shinobi in his own right"

With the mention of Asuma, Shikamaru couldn't help but smile and toyed with the cigarettes he kept in his pocket at all times.

"Konohamaru," kakashi began "I called you here because I have a mission for you, and for you also Moegi"

Shikamaru stepped forward and handed Konohamaru a sealed scroll. "This is all the information the Hidden Cloud had on the Hidden Mist shinobi known as 'Veronica'. It seems as if they have had their own problems with her in the past"

"As soon as we heard about the attack we decided that since Veronica is here we must assist you." Said the unknown female shinobi "If not only for keeping the peace treaty between our great villages but also for the Raikage's personal revenge"

"Revenge?" asked Konohamaru in surprise

"The Raikage's younger brother, Killerbee, was a great shinobi but he was murdered by an extremely dangerous woman named 'Veronica' from the Hidden Mist village. Our intelligence gathered told us it was don't on orders from the Mizukage himself"

The Raikage slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. "It wasn't just murder, it was torture!"

"How did she manage to kill the brother of the Raikage?" Moegi asked, and then squeaked in fright as the Raikage looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, Raikage-sama"

The unknown male shinobi spoke up at that point. "Raikage-sama please calm down, you're scaring the poor girl"

"I'm sorry girl, but what that woman did to my brother…"

"Raikage-sama no need to apologise, she understands that it is a sensitive issue for you" the male Shinobi looked at Moegi and winked with a smile, "The Raikage's brother was attacked with a sealing technique, one which I think you are both familiar with"

Konohamaru glanced at the scroll in his hand. "The cursed heart sealing technique, right?"

"You don't mean the same technique that Iruka-sensei was attacked with?"

"The very same" the male shinobi replied, "It made Killerbee immune to pain and any other type of physical sensation, his entire body was in a slow numbing process. He couldn't feel pain, he couldn't taste food and he slowly began to lose the feeling of any and all emotions except for his overwhelming grief. However the technique had another side effect that no one could have guessed."

Konohamaru examined the scroll in his hand and whispered just loud enough for the people in the room to vaguely hear him. "It made him immortal…"

Moegi gasped and the Hidden Cloud shinobi nodded in agreement.

"Yes he became immune to pain and after a while he even tried to take his own life. No matter what he tried he could not die, his body regenerated at an accelerated rate and his body would repair itself no matter what harm was done to it. He became like a zombie and always spoke about how he wanted to die."

The female shinobi took up the telling of the story at this point. "One day we found Killerbee by our villages monument to the previous Raikages of the village, he was on his knees with his head slumped down. He had a sword driven through his heart and yet he wore a smile on his face. We sent a falcon to the Hidden Leaf village and they sent Yamanaka Inoichi to us it was through his mind techniques we learnt about Veronica and her dangerous sealing technique."

"What did you learn?" Moegi asked

The Raikage replied to Moegi's question, "That she is the only one who can release the technique and the only way to do that is to destroy the heart of the shinobi who has the seal placed upon him. The release technique used on Killerbee was used through his own sword and the blade severed the seal and he was finally able to die"

"Konohamaru" Kakashi interrupted before any more questions could be asked, "I am sending you and Moegi and the two Hidden Cloud shinobi out to capture Veronica and bring her back to the Hidden Leaf village so we might discover if there is anyway we can save Iruka and to bring her to justice for the acts she committed in the Hidden Cloud village"

"Hokage-sama why aren't you sending Udon with us?" Moegi asked, "He is a part of our team and cares about Iruka as much as we do!"

"Udon is…Incapable of completing this mission" Shikamaru replied, "He has grown depressive and despondent. He is too unstable to send out in to a dangerous territory. We need skilled shinobi we can depend on"

Kakashi raised his hand to signal Shikamaru to silence. "You both have shown courage in the face of such danger also your skills are better suited for this mission. Moegi you're a talented genjutsu user as well as being the best weapon user among every genin. Konohamaru you're an extremely skilled shinobi for your age and your experience against the Hidden Mist is an ideal advantage"

"Two shinobi from my own personal guard will accompany you" the Raikage said, "Jade here is an experienced jounin and Tae, although still a genin, is incredibly powerful. They will make up the remaining two members of your four-man cell."

"Jade will fill you in on your mission, the rest is written in the scroll Shikamaru handed you, good luck Konohamaru and you Moegi. Dismissed"

Standing on the platform below the Hokage monument, the newly formed team stood looking up at the Hokage faces. Kakashi's likeness had been carved into the mountainside a year ago but since the carving was also shown as wearing a mask over half of his face, it was hard for Konohamaru not to smile.

"I think we should get to know one another before we go on our mission and we can discuss anything mission related over a nice hot bowl of ramen" Tae said, "Since my sister here is our jounin leader, I think it should be her treat!"

Jade obviously did not see the humour in what her brother was saying. "If you want to stuff yourself before a mission then you can pay for it with your health as well as your own money"

After the other shinobi had left the room Shikamaru spoke privately with the Hokage and the Raikage.

"Hokage-sama I have bad news" He said in a dire tone

"What is it Shikamaru?"

"Several ANBU members were found dead above the Hokage monument, one of the ANBU is still alive but he is in a critical state at the hospital. The other 3 members of his squad were literally torn to pieces, two of them were ripped apart after they had been killed"

"Do you have any leads?"

"Yes sir, we believe it was Veronica and we believe she is still in the Hidden Leaf village."

Kakashi sighed and looked at the Raikage, "Raikage-sama I hope those two shinobi that you chose are up to this task"

"Kakashi, even I'm afraid of the power that those two have"


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto: A Cursed Existence

Chapter 5 "Udon's test"

The hospital was quiet at this time of the morning, many of the medical teams were out in the field assisting the war effort and those who were injured in battle that could not be healed right away generally never made it back to the Hidden Leaf to get intensive care. Only a few nurses walked the corridors tending to the injured that were in the hospital. Veronica had taken a mask from one of the ANBU members that she had disposed of during her last battle with the Hidden Leaf and now wore it while she was strolling the corridors of the hospital. She had come to the hospital to finish off the last of the ANBU who she fought against, this last one was strong and she could never stand to leave something like that unfinished.

The memories of entering the intensive care ward were fresh in her mind and she relished in those thoughts. She had found the last ANBU member, he was a tall shinobi but she could not see his eyes, he wore a pair of dark tinted glasses. She remembered the fight she had against him, he seemed to have some bond with a dangerous small insect, which he said could consume chakra. Yet she felt some respect for this Hidden Leaf shinobi, his skills were amazing and he was the only stand out shinobi of the whole ANBU squad that she had faced off against. She recalled that there was a clan in the Hidden Leaf that formed a bond with these insects but she could not remember the name, it had been over 10 years since she had lived in the Hidden Leaf village, 10 years since her exile and her disgrace. She remembered entering the room where the ANBU shinobi was being tended to, it appeared that he had a 24 hour watch placed over him, his condition was apparently severe and needed constant medical treatment. It was no surprise since Veronica had to use _that_ technique. As she entered the room the medical shinobi looked up from the injured ANBU and in an instant she was discovered, the medical shinobi had leapt to his feet and tried to call out for help however Veronica was too fast and had crossed the distance between them and rammed a kunai into his throat before he was able to get any form of warning out. She whispered into his ear, as he stood propped up against the wall by Veronica and her kunai. "I'm sorry you, if you weren't here this would not be necessary but I cannot be found just yet. I have something important to see to"

The medical shinobi gurgled a response as blood gushed from his neck and from his mouth however it was too incoherent to make out. Veronica took out the kunai and still holding the medical shinobi's head, tilted his head back and finished him off with a deep slice across his neck.

Veronica then took the time to clean her kunai in the clothes of the medical shinobi, constantly apologising to his corpse that she did not wish this to happen but it was necessary. After a few minutes of cleaning the kunai and then saying a silent word for the fallen shinobi, Veronica turned around and stood over the bed of the ANBU that she had come to dispose of. "You were a worthy opponent, Hidden Leaf still has some talented shinobi after all however the Hidden Leaf is doomed to fall, the power of three great villages are about to converge so consider this a mercy killing" Veronica looked at the ANBU's face and noticed he couldn't have been any older than 18 and she sighed, "He's just a boy still but a boy who could grow into a very dangerous man…"

Veronica smiled as she walked the corridors of the hospital. The final stroke was always the one that she relished the most because it was the most intimate; it was the moment where you fully understood the real character of the person you were facing even though this was a mercy killing, she felt good about it. She had one last task to do here and then her mission was over and she was to return to the Hidden Mist to file a full report on the Hidden Leaf village, but first she had to find Iruka. He was hers now and she intended to keep it that way. It didn't take long to locate the ward in which Iruka was placed because his type of injury wasn't too severe and they needed room to conduct their tests on him and the seal that had been placed over him.

As Veronica entered the room she could see that Iruka was awake and not alone, one of his students from the forest was sitting with him.

"Udon you must not let this get to you, it is not your fault, I was careless…" Iruka cut off as Veronica entered the room, she was still wearing the ANBU mask but she knew that Iruka knew who it was under the mask, "Udon, get out of here now"

"Sensei?" Udon sounded confused and he looked over to the doorway where Veronica stood

"Now!" Iruka shouted and Udon leaped to his feet but Veronica was ready and she threw several shiruken across the room and they caught Udon in the back and cut deep into the back of his arms and legs and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Udon!" Iruka shouted and threw back his covers and got to his feet, he was a still a bit unbalanced but the look in his eyes was dangerous. His hands placed in front of him to form the hand seal for "Tiger" which was used for fire techniques.

"I can't move sensei" Udon said through drawn breaths, he was breathing heavily and the expression on his face was one of agony.

Veronica rushed forward to meet Iruka head on his hand seal speed was not fast enough however and she was on him before he was able to complete his technique, she slammed her fists into his face and sent him sprawling on to his bed. Veronica performed several hand seals and unleashed her own technique on him. "Wind element, wind restraint" The air around Iruka seemed to be getting heavier until he could no longer move his arms or legs.

"What do you want with me Veronica?" Iruka said through gritted teeth, "Why have you done this?"

"Why, I'm here to save you Iruka, if you come with me I can free you from the seal I have placed upon you" Veronica replied in a sweet voice, her voice seemed to be to sweet by far for Udon's liking, her tone was always mocking but there was something in her voice that made Udon want to believe her.

"I can't trust you Veronica, you're a traitor to the village… and to me"

"I betrayed you?" Veronica snapped back, "It was because of you Iruka that I was exiled in the first place! 10 years ago when I developing my own techniques it was you who discovered me and it was you who reported it to the 3rd Hokage and for that I was banished!"

"You should not have started toying with peoples lives Veronica"

"I did this for you Iruka, my love"

"How did you do anything for me?" Iruka said in disgust, "We were once lovers but I am a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, you harmed its citizens to give yourself more power, just like…"  
"Do not say his name!" Veronica shouted and slapped Iruka hard across the face, "My technique has made it possible for you to survive, but it also compels you to me. If I wish I can remove the seal but you are mine Iruka and I will take you back to the Hidden Mist"

Iruka seemed confused; her voice was lulling him into a trance.

"Sensei!" Udon shouted and threw a kunai at Veronica, she dodged the attack but she was not quick enough to see Udon's follow up technique.

"Wind element, Gale wind palm technique!" Udon thrust his hands towards Veronica and a crushing force of wind drove into Veronica's stomach and sent her sprawling to the ground. "Wind element, Cutting whirlwind!"

Veronica was suddenly swept up into a whirlwind that cut through the roof of the building and through the floor, shredding tiles and wooden beams alike. The wind was cutting fierce and slices appeared all over Veronica's body and Veronica's scream could be heard but it was muffled by the sound of the whirlwind, Udon was standing again but barely, he struggled to maintain the technique and his exhaustion finally took its toll and he fell to his knees. The whirlwind still raged though and Veronica was incapacitated by it, she could not move and the cuts to her body were becoming worse.

A katana slid through Udon's back and emerged from his chest. In an instant he was on the ground and Iruka knelt over him holding the end of the katana. "I'm sorry Udon but this is my only chance to release the seal, please forgive me"

As he slid the katana out of Udon's body, Udon placed a hand under his chest; his hand had a slight green glow to it.

The whirlwind had stopped the instant Udon fell and Veronica was on her feet again, covered in scratches and a bit bloodied. Her throat however was where most of the damage had been done and her voice came out in a rasp. "Thank you Iruka, I'm glad you made the right choice, I did not want to have to go through the trouble of killing that boy myself"

"Save it Veronica, I want you to release me from this curse" Iruka replied, and held out the katana to her, handle first, "One way or another"

She glared at Iruka and then turned to the door and began to walk away, "Then let's be on our way, it's past time we were leaving anyway"

Iruka stepped over the body of Udon lying on the ground and didn't look back, he felt the surge of chakra from Udon as he took the katana out, and he knew Udon was powerful but until now he had no idea how much he had improved.

In his study Kakashi sat and read the reports of Iruka's condition and sighed. There was a tap at his door and he beckoned whomever it was to enter. Shikamaru entered with a grim look on his face.

"What has happened Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked in a pained tone, he knew it was bad otherwise the ANBU captain would not have been sent.

"There was an attack at the hospital, Hokage-sama" Shikamaru reported, "Iruka is missing, Udon is in a critical condition and one of the shinobi of the medical team watching over Aburame Shino is dead."

"How is Shino?"

A figure quite taller than Shikamaru entered the room; he wore a large trench coat with a hood that was pulled up, and a collar that covered his mouth. He wore dark tinted glasses even at night and he carried an ANBU mask in his hand.

"I'm fine, Hokage-sama" Shino said in a deep and mysterious voice.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto: Acursed Existence

Chapter 6 "Ambush!"

The sun rose above the gates of the Hidden Leaf village and Konohamaru and his new squad were well on their way. They were on a mission to the water country to track down and capture the kunoichi known as Veronica. The team was led by a kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud village, a jounin named Jade. Her younger brother Tae was also in the squad and was said to be a chuunin of immense power but Konohamaru was not sure how they would fare against the woman who took down his sensei with a single technique.

"We have to hurry" Jade said, reprimanding the squad on their slow pace "Reports say that Veronica left the village yesterday so we have to hurry if we are to catch up with her"

"We can't travel any faster sis" replied Tae, "we need to be cautious of traps. The Hidden Mist are said to be encamped near the hidden Leaf. If we run around blindly we might fall into a trap"

Konohamaru kept a silent vigil, his emotions were running high every since he discovered that his closest friend had been severely injured. Reports said that Veronica attacked him but the wound wasn't fatal and she was a very dangerous woman, Konohamaru had mixed feelings about the attack. Moegi was clearly upset about Iruka going missing as well as Udon's injury, she insisted she be left behind to tend to Udon's injury however Kakashi had ordered her to resume the mission.

"Konohamaru" Tae called out to him, his mind was clearly else where at the moment he had not noticed the rest of the group had stopped, "we're taking a short break, you and Moegi clearly need some rest"

"We can't stop now, we need to catch up to Iruka-sensei!" Moegi said a little too heatedly, "We can't let that woman get away!"

"Do you want to die so quickly?" Jade said in a tone that mocked no arguments, "Tae is right, we cannot rush foolishly into enemy territory"

"But they're getting further and further away from us" Moegi whined

"We don't know that Moegi" Konohamaru interrupted, "We have no idea what her intentions are, we have to tread carefully. Do you remember what Shino-sama said?"

"But Konohamaru…"

"He said that Veronica mentioned three of the great Hidden Villages were going to attack the Hidden Leaf. If what she said is true we have more than Hidden Mist shinobi to worry about"

"Konohamaru is right Moegi" Tae said, "We all want to get your sensei back to the village safely, trust me" Tae winked at Moegi again and she blushed

"_That Tae_." Thought Jade, "_Such a smooth talker, I'm glad he's my brother since I have a natural defence against his charm_"

The group settled down for a quick respite from their travels, the sun was well past it's midday peak and the group had to be on their way soon enough.

Kakashi stood before the three shinobi and looked them over, "you all have grown so much in the last few years. Not one of you resembles the child I once saw take the chuunin exams, this is why I need you now, I have an urgent mission for you" Kakashi handed the tall and mysterious Shino a scroll, "As squad leader I need you to take your team through hostile territory. You are to provide back up for Konohmaru's team since all three of you have had experience in dealing with Hidden Mist shinobi you are all best suited for this task"

"What are we to do with this scroll, Hokage-sama?" Shino asked, his speech was always fiercely polite.

"Once you have reached Konohamaru and the Hidden Cloud shinobi you are ot hand that scroll to Konohamaru and he is to open it. I have sealed it myself so none other than Konohamaru can open it"

"We're to deliver a scroll?"

"No, you are to assist in their pursuit of the S-rank villain Veronica. You have your mission, now go"

After leaving the Hokage's office Shino turned to face the other members of his team, "Looks like team 10 is together once again"

"I'm so happy to be a part of team 10 once more" Hinata said meekly

"Let's show why we are the greatest team in the Hidden Leaf!" Kiba said excitedly, "Let's hurry on, we cannot waste anytime!"

A kunai flashed past Konohamaru's face, barely giving him time to get behind cover.

"We're under attack!" Konohamaru shouted

Jade, Tae and Moegi all took cover as well. "Konohamaru, are you ok?" Moegi called out

"I'm fine, we need to find out how many there are!"

"Tae's taking care of it" Jade replied calmly

Konohamaru looked over and could no longer see Tae, he had simply vanished, Konohmaru looked confused and then Jade smiled, "Konoha's yellow flash was not the only one who could use space/time techniques"

Tae reappeared next to Konohamaru and grinned, "There is a squad of four Hidden Mist shinobi waiting ahead for us, the kunai that almost hit you was a trap set up to warn them of enemies approaching, it has some kind of beacon scroll attached to it. If it had been an actual shinobi you would have been dead"

Konohamaru disappeared in a cloud of smoke and re-emerged from behind Jade. "I learnt my lesson last time I was doing reconnaissance"

"Enough messing around" Jade said sternly, "We don't need to show off to each other. We have to figure out how we're going to deal with those Hidden Mist shinobi"

A person shrouded in shadows standing behind the group begun to laugh out loud, "You have more than Hidden Mist shinobi to worry about!"

"Who are you?" Jade demanded, drawing a katana seemingly from out of nowhere.

The man in the shadows of the trees cracked open a flare and threw it to the ground standing in the shadows with him were at least ten more shinobi. The man who spoke stepped forward, brandishing his weapon, a giant spiked club.

"Who are they?" Moegi asked Jade

"From the look of their forehead protectors… They're shinobi of the Hidden Rock village"


End file.
